Groups not happy with light sentence

PETALING JAYA: Conservation groups have expressed disappointment over the sentence against Anson Wong, saying Malaysia should show the world it was serious in tackling wildlife trafficking.

Traffic South-East Asia regional director Dr William Schaedla said in a statement yesterday the authorities must be serious in clearing Malaysia’s reputation as a wildlife trafficking hub.

Traffic South-East Asia is part of the global Traffic network, which is a joint programme of the International Union for Conser­vation of Nature and WWF, established to monitor trade in wild plants and animals.

-The Star- A Sessions Court yesterday sentenced Wong to six months’ jail and fined him a total of RM190,000 after he pleaded guilty to illegally exporting 95 boa constrictors.

WWF-Malaysia executive director Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said that in view of the fact that Wong had 95 snakes in his possession and that the aggregate maximum fine that could be imposed was RM1mil, “the fine comes up a little short in relation to the offence”.

Dr Sharma urged the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to revoke all of Wong’s current licences to trade in wildlife.

One Response to “Groups not happy with light sentence”

When someone trades in endangered species,say animals listed on appendix II on CITES, there should be a heavy prison sentence,especially for a repeat offender like WOng. 6 months is like a holiday away from work before he’s back to push endangered species into appendix III, by which time it may be too late.